My thoughts on the Phillies season.

Results tagged ‘ Ron Santo ’

In the Phillies’ 126-years existance as a member of the National League, the team has won only sixteen triples championships. Ten Phils have won those sixteen titles, with four of them winning multiple titles, while one player would win it while playing for two teams and five players won the title while tied with one or more players.

The first Phil to win the triples title was Hall of Famer Ed Delahanty who won his only triples title of his fine career in 1892 with twenty-one triples. No Phil would win the triples title for the next fifty-five years. The next Phillie player to win the triples title was Harry ‘the Hat’ Walker, winning it in 1947 playing for both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Phillies, as he hit sixteen triples. Three years later, the third Phil to win the title was Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn who had fourteen triples in 1950, the year that the Phils won their second National League title. Ashburn won his second triples title in 1958 with thirteen triples. Johnny Callison became the fourth Phillie player to win the title, as he was tied with Willie Davis and Maury Wills of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Bill Virdon of the Pittsburgh Pirates, as all four men hit ten triples in 1962. Two years later, in 1964, Rookie of the Year winner Dick Allen became the fifth Phil to win the title, as he was tied with Ron Santo of the Chicago Cubs, with each man getting thirteen triples. The next year, 1965, Callison won his second triples title, this time by himself, as he hit sixteen three-baggers. In 1972, Larry Bowa won the eighth triples title won by a Phil player, the sixth Phil to do so, by hitting thirteen triples. Dave Cash became the seventh Phil to capture the triples title by getting twelve triples in 1976, the year that the Phillies won the first of their three straight National League Eastern Division titles. In 1984, Juan Samuel won the title, the eighth Phillie player to win it, as he tied with Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg of the Cubs, with each man hitting nineteen triples. Samuel won the title outright four years later in 1987, as he hit fifteen triples. In 1999, Bobby Abreu won the twelfth triples title won by a Phillie player, the ninth Phil to do so, as he tied with Neifi Perez of the Colorado Rockies, with each man hitting eleven three-baggers. The tenth and last Phil to win the triples title, Jimmy Rollins, won the first of his, so far, four triples titles by hitting twelve triples in 2001. He won his second title the following year, 2002, with ten three-baggers. Rollins won his third triples title in 2004, as he was tied with Jack Wilson of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Juan Pierre of the Florida Marlins, with all three men hitting twelve triples. Rollins won his fourth and most recent title, the sixteenth won by a Phil, in 2007, as he hit twenty triples.

Of the sixteen titles wins, only three of them were won by a Hall of Famer (Ed Delahanty (1), Richie Ashburn (2)). Jimmy Rollins has so far won the most triples titles as a Phil with four title victories, followed by Ashburn, Juan Samuel and Johnny Callison with two titles wins each. Delahanty is the Phillie player to hit the most triples while winning the title with twenty-one triples, while Johnny Callison (in 1962) and Jimmy Rollins (in 2002) both won the title with the least triples with ten of them. Callison, Dick Allen, Samuel, Bobby Abreu and Rollins each won the triples title while tied with another NL player, with Callison being involved in a four way tie in 1962 and Rollins in a three-men tie in 2004. The Phillies had one triples title win in the 19th Century, eleven in the 20th Century and so far, four triples title wins in the 21st Century.

Who will win the next triples title as a Phillie? Please, that’s a no-brainer. J-Roll, who else.

The late Joe Gordon, former second baseman for the Yankees and Indians of the 1930s and 1940s was the only one of 20 men voted on by the Veterans Committee to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame, as he was placed on 10 of 12 ballots for 83.3 percent of the vote of those who started their baseball careers prior to 1942, going over the required 75 percent of the vote needed to enter the hall. The ex-Yank and Indian star beat out Allie Reynolds, who received 8 votes and Wes Ferrell, who received 6 votes. The Veterans were at the same time unable to elect any of the ten players who were on the post-1943 ballot. The player with the highest amount was ex-Cub Ron Santo, who received 39 votes for 60.9 percent of the ballots. He was followed by ex-Red Sox, Senator, Twin, Phil and Cardinal Jim Kaat, who received 38 votes for 59.4 percent of the vote. Once again, the Veterans Committee, which is made up of all living hall of famers, were unable to elect someone who was among their contemporaries, being unable to do so previously in 2003, ’05 and ’07. The committee will next vote on players whose playing careers began after 1943 in 2010. Maybe by then they will be able to decide on which of their contemporaries to get behind and elect, although it looks like Santo and Kaat may be the favorites in that year.

Anyway, congratulations to Gordon, and good luck to Reynolds, Ferrell, Santo and Kaat when they are before the committee in 2013 and 2010, respectively.

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